Change in Starwood
by StellarSlytherin
Summary: Wendy feels that her home city has nothing for her, and moves to a quaint little town called Starwood on a whim. Wendy is immediately disappointed with her new home. But, when a spunky new villager moves in after her, Starwood is changed forever.
1. Chapter 1:  Moving Away

Disclaimer : I don't own any piece of Animal Crossing, but I wish I did

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><p>I looked out of my bedroom window and sighed. It really <em>was<em> a beautiful view. I could see my backyard. The grass was swaying gently.

The wooden swing set my father had made all by himself when I was four years old sat there, the swings on it moving slightly in the breeze. He made it as a birthday present for me, and I used to absolutely love it. It looked old and on the verge of falling apart with the slightest touch, but it served its purpose well for my six year old twin brothers, Adam and Jacob.

The tall oak tree that has been in our yard since we moved in was full with bright green leaves, and basked in the bright summer sun.

Adam and Jacob were sitting under the shade of the oak tree. Adam munched contently on an apple, and Jacob was looking at a picture book. They both seemed to not have a care in the world. They knew that I was leaving, but I don't think they were too concerned. They _were _only six. It didn't offend me too much.

Adam and Jacob are sweet boys, and they looked identical. They both have shaggy dark brown hair, and bright blue eyes. Although their appearances are quite similar, their personalities are not. Adam is more outgoing, while Jacob is more shy and reserved.

Why was I about to cry? I knew I'd never see the tall oak tree, or the wooden swing set, or even this house ever again, but it was _my_ choice. I didn't have to leave it all if I didn't want to. Was I going to change my mind… again?

No. I couldn't back out now. So what if I was leaving all of this behind? I would soon have my own house, and new neighbors, and more freedom. My life would be much better.

I love the boys and my parents, but I'm moving because I feel trapped. Trapped in this little town that has nothing for me. My life has gone nowhere so far, and I know deep down inside that I'm ready to leave it all.

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><p>My childhood was not bad at all. In fact, I was treated like a princess. My parents would buy me anything or take me anywhere. The way my parents talk about me, I sounded like a grade 'A' brat.<p>

By the time I was five, I had met my best friend, Cherry. Cherry and I were the same age, and I think she's what changed me from being selfish to being, well, NOT selfish.

Cherry and her family were not poor, but they weren't rich either. I think my family was the same way, yet they still gave me whatever I wanted.

Cherry is the most selfless and caring person I know, and hanging out with her was what really did change me.

Then, when I was ten, my mother gave birth to twin brothers, and I knew this was my wake up call. I no longer asked for "things" all the time, and I helped with my brothers instead.

This town is beautiful and nice, and I love the people here and my family. But there's nothing here for me. I think the realization really hit me a year ago. I started telling this to mom, and she thought that I was just "going through a phase", and that "I'll find my place here when I'm older."

I didn't believe her, and look! Here I am, prepared to leave.

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><p>Telling myself why I'm leaving seems to help me stay on track. Okay, now I have no regrets. There was no turning back now, and no reason to. I'm ready. Ready to go.<p>

I looked down at my small backpack that had 1500 bells in it, and smiled. Soon I'd be on a train, heading to a new town.

A new place.

A new chapter in my life.

A blank page for me to fill in all on my own.

And I was more excited than I've ever been in my life.

I heard mom shout something to Adam and Jacob. I looked out the window again, and saw that they were running into the house.

I picked up my bag, and hiked it onto my shoulder. I didn't really have a plan. I didn't know where I was going. I haven't called about a house, and I don't have a lot of money. Yet, the idea that I have no plans at all relaxed me more than stressed me out. It made me feel like I had more freedom. There were thousands of possibilities for me, and I could pick any single one of them on the fly.

I started out of my bedroom, leaving everything behind except the yellow and red check dress on my back, my backpack, my watch and my bells. Moving to a new house, I wanted to buy new furniture on my own, and not use anything that I have here, at my old home.

I walked down the stairs, and couldn't help but grin the whole way. My mom, and my two little brothers were waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs in the living room near the front door. Mom must have called Adam and Jacob inside to say goodbye to me. I barely reached the bottom of the staircase before the boys tackled me with a huge hug. "We'll miss you so much!" They both said together. Mom smiled at them sweetly.

"Promise to write us lots of letters?" Jacob asked cutely. I smiled down at him. "I promise."

"Promise to let us come visit you?" Adam asked, looking quite hopeful. I noticed he had little pieces of apple around his mouth.

"Well…" I thought, "Maybe when I'm all moved in, and up on my feet. But yes, you can visit me eventually."

Jacob giggled. "You already ARE on your feet!"

I laughed at Jacob, and kissed him and Adam on the top of the head. "Good bye, boys. I love you, and be good!"

My mom walked over to me. I noticed that her bright blue eyes, that greatly resembled mine, were red and puffy. She embraced me, and whispered in my ear, "Be careful."

I looked up at her and grinned. "You know I will." Mom smiled, ruffled my blonde hair, and let me go.

Mom has been trying to convince me not to move out. She'd give me all these reasons and stupid excuses, or she'd make me feel guilty. Over the time span of about 3 months, I've probably changed my mind about ten times.

Then, when I changed my mind to wanting to move again, I packed my bag with bells, and decided to just leave. This was yesterday.

I told my mom my plans this morning, and she yelled at me, and cried and called dad at work, and cried some more. But I couldn't let mom change my mind again. I needed to leave.

Dad told me that leaving home would be good for me. That I'd learn more about life, and things like that.

That wasn't the point of me moving out, but I really appreciated that dad had my back through all of this.

I opened the front door and started walking down the porch steps. Mom offered to drive me to the train station this morning after all of her crying and yelling, but I wanted the start of my journey to begin as soon as my foot crossed the threshold of my house, so I declined the offer.

"Tell dad I love him!" I shouted to Mom as I walked off of the porch. She waved to me and smiled, and I couldn't help but notice that her eyes were shining with tears.

"I'll write to you whenever I can!" I shouted at her with a grin. I could feel mom's smile radiate on my neck as I turned around and walked away, even though she hadn't said anything.

I walked cheerily down the sidewalk. My new life has officially begun.

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><p>I kept walking for about ten minutes, before it hit me that I'd probably have to say good bye to Cherry, as I would be passing her house. As I came up to her house, I saw my best friend sitting on her porch reading a book. Cherry looked up at me confused. It's not every day that I walk down the street by myself with a backpack. She climbed down her porch steps and walked up to me. "Where are you going, Wendy?" she asked, confused.<p>

Now I love Cherry, and I have loved her ever since I met her, but I kept my moving-away-idea to myself. I just didn't want her to freak out, like she does over everything.

I smiled sadly. "I'm moving away. All by myself. I'm starting a whole new life, in a whole new town."

Cherry gasped, and her eyes welled up with tears immediately. "How come you never told me?" She whimpered.

I sighed. "I kind of kept it to myself."

Cherry started bawling, and hugged me.

Great, more good byes.

"I can't believe you weren't even going to say good bye to me!" She wailed loudly.

"Shhhhh! Cherry, you don't have to scream it to the whole neighborhood! I really need to keep moving. And so you know, I _was_ going to say good bye to you! I'm in a rush now, but I'll write to you."

I didn't mean to sound so annoyed, but I didn't want to say good bye to Cherry and change my mind again.

Ugh, I hated sounding like such a jerk.

Cherry sniffled and waved to me. She pushed her long red curtain of hair out of her bright green eyes. I waved back, trying to put on a gentle smile to make up for how rude I sounded.

I marched on, trying to move fast so there were no more interruptions. I didn't need anyone else taking up more time with good byes. I checked my watch. It was already noon!

I "speed walked" on for about 45 minutes, through the town I have grown up in. I know it pretty well, but I've never been over on this side by the train station. There was really no reason to come over here, as most of the stores and other businesses were closed.

I walked amongst the aged buildings, until I saw a sign.

It was tall and forest green, with a black train on it. Above the train, in large white letters, it clearly stated, "TRAIN STATION".

I had made it without too many interruptions, and was quite proud of myself. I was slightly out of breath because of "speed walking" for so long. Oh well. I was about to board the train soon. The excitement flooded me with bounds of energy.

I entered the little train station, beaming. Behind the counter was an older man, reading a newspaper. He looked up as I opened the door. A little bell tingled over my head.

I noticed immediately (because it was quite obvious) that the train station was completely empty besides the man behind the counter.

I walked up to him, slightly unsure of what to do.

"The train can leave whenever you're ready, young lady." The man suddenly said gruffly. "Just tell me where you need to go."

The man's name tag stated "Tim". He was wearing a white and blue striped polo, and looked quite bored.

I looked up at an old black sign hanging behind the man that listed names of different towns in white letters. There were so many different towns listed! Hyrule, Elysium, Minan, Skyview. I had no idea which one to choose.

First off, I didn't know anything about these towns (and I was too afraid to ask this seemingly cranky old man) and second, what if these towns didn't have houses for sale? I would have to come back home, and I did NOT want to do that. I was starting to get a little anxious, and I didn't want to make the wrong decision.

I noticed one town name at the very bottom of the sign.

Starwood.

The little white letters for Starwood were extremely dirty, and on the verge of falling off. It made me think the town was old, and almost forgotten, and for whatever reason, that intrigued me.

I smiled at the man. "One ticket to Starwood please."

He typed in some information on his computer that was on top of the faded black counter. He seemed to take a long time looking up the information, and I couldn't help but wonder that maybe something went wrong.

After a couple of minutes, he turned to face me. "I'm sorry, miss. It doesn't look like the train stops in Starwood anymore. But, there's a city nearby that the train _does_ stop at. It looks like there's a bus that goes from that city to Starwood. Is that alright?"

"That sounds great!" I said brightly. "Whatever it takes to get me to my brand new home!" The latter statement slipped out, but I couldn't help it. I was too excited.

"Ahh! So you're moving?" The man asked in his gruff voice.

"Oh! Yes! I don't have a plan, and I'm kind of winging everything. I've never even _heard _of Starwood until I arrived here. I hope that there are some houses for sale there. If not, I guess I'll have to find another town to live in. I'm hoping everything works out right."

I realized I was rambling, and grinned sheepishly.

The man smiled, probably at my stupidity. "That will be 500 bells."

I reached into my backpack, and pulled out the money. I gave it to the man, and he handed me my train ticket.

He lead me through a door, and I found myself outside on a little platform. There was a small black train with red detailing sitting before us. Little puffs of steam issued from the top every now and then, making it look like the steam engine was eager to get going.

"PORTER!" The man shouted. A monkey stuck his head out of the locomotive's window.

Wait a second… a MONKEY? I did a double take, and, indeed, there was a monkey controlling the train I was going to be riding in. I could see his head, and part of his upper body. He looked just like any other conductor… except for the fact that he was a monkey. He was wearing a blue hat, and a blue suit that matched. The suit had two rows of yellow buttons going down the front.

I was extremely apprehensive about riding this train now. I mean, I've never even rode in a train before, let alone one controlled by a monkey!

"THIS YOUNG LADY NEEDS TO GET TO THE CITY!" The man shouted at the monkey.

The monkey, Porter, brought a brown furry hand to his forehead in a salute. "AYE AYE, CAPTAIN! EEK, EEK!"

The man looked down at me, and I'm sure he caught the look on my face when I saw the talking conductor-monkey.

"Don't worry," the man said with a somewhat evil grin. "Porter is extremely skilled at controlling the train. You'll get to the city in one piece." He chuckled, and guided me onto the train. I felt my hand shake as I held onto the railing and climbed up the little set of stairs.

"Have a nice trip, and good luck with your new life!" The man said, before stepping off of the train.

"Th-Thank you." I said shakily.

A couple of minutes later, I felt the train lurch, and realized we were leaving the station. "EEP!" I yelled, and plopped down in a green booth that was nearby. I took a couple of deep breaths.

_Okay. _I thought. _A monkey is driving a train. I'll be alright. It's just a monkey driving a train. Totally normal! I'll still make it to Starwood. And in one piece! Just like that man said!_

Everything is normal. Everything is alright.

I looked around the train, and noticed I was the only one on for the ride. It didn't really surprise me much at this point, considering how empty the station was. There were only a couple more booths in this car. They were all covered in green plastic, and the plastic was cracking and peeling off of the seats, revealing gross yellow foam. There were cobwebs in some of the top most corners, and dust covered all of the seats, including the one I was sitting in.

I giggled to myself, and brushed some of the dust off of my seat with my hand.

Mother would probably not approve of me riding in this run down old train with a monkey for a conductor, and that made me feel happy, and free. I was such a rebel!

I looked out the window, and watched as the train platform slowly moved behind me, and out of my point of view.

The train was gaining speed, and before long, trees and rolling bright green fields whizzed by me in the bright afternoon sun.

Then it hit me. My old town was now behind me. The wind was to my back. I was on my way to my new life, in Starwood.

And I couldn't wait.

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><p>AN : Thanks for reading! Please comment or review! They'll really inspire me to continue!


	2. Chapter 2: The City

Disclaimer : I don't own any piece of Animal Crossing, but I wish I did

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><p>After a while, I noticed that the scenery was changing from the sprawling grass fields to urban buildings. I felt the train slow down slightly, and excitement was bubbling up inside me like boiling water.<p>

I heard a little click that seemed to be coming on over a loud speaker. "Now arriving to the city. Welcome to the city! EEK! EEK!" Porter said.

I grinned. I was so close to my new town, I could almost taste it!

In my head, I went over all the things I was going to do when I arrived in Starwood.

First I was going to find somebody who could help me find a house to live in. Then I was going to meet ALL of the neighbors, who I bet were super kind, and then I'm going to write letters to Adam and Jacob and my mom and Cherry. The idea of it all made me more and more excited. My stomach was doing back flips, and it wouldn't stop!

The train continued to slow down, until it gradually came to a complete stop. I looked out the window, and saw a train platform. The platform was dirty and grimy. There were people walking around. Some looked over at the train that pulled up, but no one paid much heed to it. They all continued walking, doing their own business. It didn't bother me too much. I wasn't going to be living in this city anyway… not that I wanted too much attention.

Wait a second. Those aren't people! They're animals! This city is FULL of animals! I couldn't see any humans! Just cats and dogs and ducks and kangaroos… and a hippo! They were walking around, just like people do!

I slowly stood up from my seat, feeling light headed. Hopefully, Starwood would be just a regular town, with regular people, and no walking, talking animals. It was just this city. This MUST be the only city with animals that behave like this!

It's sad that I've had to reassure myself so much thus far.

I walked over to the door that I entered to get onto the train, and walked off , and into the hustle and bustle of the animals on the platform. The train whistled, and prepared to leave. It was building up speed slowly as it went. I watched it roll away for a little bit, and then turned around. I felt like I was floating, as though none of this was real.

I had no idea where I was, or where the bus stop was. Maybe one of these animals knew. I didn't want to impose on any of them, but I needed serious help.

I caught sight of the back of an orange cat, and tapped her on the shoulder. "Excuse me," I said kindly. The cat turned around, and my first impression of her was that she looked like an orange!

An orange!

She had a textured head, and a single leaf in between her ears that went down to a point near her eyes. She was wearing a blue and white striped shirt, and her perky ears gave me the impression that she was super peppy.

The cat smiled at me. "What's up, reeeeOWR?" I stared at her, and she stared back. The cat started to look confused. "Ummm, do you need anything?" she asked.

"Oh! I'm sorry." I said, trying so hard to not seem like I was freaked out. Yeah, I talk to cats with orange for heads everyday….

Oh man. I'm talking to a cat with an orange for a head.

"Can you please direct me to the closest bus stop?" I asked, trying to keep my head straight. "I'm kind of new around this city, and I can't quite find my way around."

The cat giggled. "Ooooooh, you talk so fancy, reeeeOWR! Sure, I'll like, totally show you where the bus stop is! I come to this city everyday, because I love the stores and the theatre and the salon…"

I couldn't help but smile. I interrupted the cat before she could continue rambling. "I'm Wendy, by the way! I'm moving to a town called Starwood, which I believe is pretty close to this city."

The cat looked like she was going to explode with happiness. "I'm Tangy! I live in Pumpkin, which is a town that's super duper close to the town YOU'RE moving to! Yay yay yay! I made a new friend, reeeeOWR!" Tangy started doing a little dance right there on the train platform, in front of everybody.

I giggled. "Tangy, er, no offense, but could you show me to the bus stop now? I'm kind of anxious to see what Starwood is like."

Tangy beamed. "Totally! Let's go!"

She skipped in front of me, and I followed laughing. We walked, or well I walked and Tangy skipped, through a crowd of animals, until we came to a small tunnel. Tangy and I maneuvered are way through the crowded tunnel, until we found ourselves in a little plaza.

There was a short staircase that lead up to a fountain, and a fancy store, that said in gold letters over top of the doors, "Gracie Grace". There also appeared to be a theatre, the one that Tangy was rambling about. There was also a salon, and a couple of other stores that I couldn't recognize off hand.

In the plaza, there were lots of different animals wandering around, and coming in and out of stores. A walrus holding colorful balloons stood near a red cart. On the steps of an abandoned building, a skunk was giving a pretty white wolf a shoe shine.

"See that fancy store up there? That's Gracie Grace, the most expensive furniture and clothing you'll EVER find! And over there is the hair salon! Harriet gives AMAZING hair cuts, reeeeOWR! Oh, and there's Phineas, the walrus handing out balloons, and Kicks the skunk who shines shoes…AHHHHHH! GOLDIE!"

Tangy made me jump. I looked at her, and saw that she was waving over a yellow dog. The dog had darker beige spots on her nose and around her chocolate brown eyes. She was wearing a red and white checked shirt. It almost looked like a table cloth, but it was still stylish.

"OMG, GOLDIE! COME OVER HERE!" Tangy shouted.

There really wasn't any need for Tangy to shout, because Goldie was only about 20 feet away.

Goldie smiled, and walked over to us. "Hello Tangy, woof! Who is this?"

Tangy giggled. "Goldie, this is Wendy! She's moving to Starwood! Wendy, this is Goldie! She lives in Pumpkin with me, and she's, like totally cool reeeeOWR!"

Goldie laughed. "It's very nice to meet you, Wendy, woof."

I grinned. "Thanks! So far, everyone I've met seems super nice! I almost wish I was moving to Pumpkin so I could be neighbors with you and Tangy."

The three of us laughed.

"Goldie, I'll talk to you later. I gotta show Wendy the bus stop, reeeeOWR." Tangy said.

Goldie smiled warmly. "Okay Tangy. Bye Wendy. Nice meeting you, woof!"

I waved good bye to Goldie. I watched as she headed into the store called Gracie Grace.

The idea of shopping in Gracie Grace got me really excited. I couldn't wait to go shopping around this city, maybe even with Tangy and Goldie!

"Tangy," I said excitedly, "After I move in, you HAVE to take me shopping around here!"

"Oh yeah! Of course, Wendy! I'll write you letters and stuff, and we can meet up in the city whenever you're ready, reeeeOWR! Goldie can even come with us, if you want!"

"Cool! I can't wait!"

I grinned. I had already made a friend, and I loved her. She was funny, hyper, and the coolest cat around!

I had also met one of _her _friends, who seemed extremely nice as well.

In fact, all the animals around seemed kind. Some would wave to me, or give me a friendly smile as I walked by, and it really made me feel quite welcomed.

I noticed a sign with a bus on it, and realized that this must be the bus stop.

"Tangy, thank you so much for showing me around the city, but I really think I must be getting to Starwood. I'll write to you soon, I promise."

"Bye bye, Wendy doo doo! TTYL, reeeeOWR!" Tangy sang, and she skipped away towards Gracie Grace, probably to shop with Goldie. Hopefully someday, _I _can go shopping with them. Three friends, shopping. I've never gone shopping with Cherry before. Thinking that makes me feel guilty, but I can't wait to go shopping with my new friends!

When I arrive at Starwood, I'm going to have to write a LOT of letters!

I stood in front of the sign for the bus stop, and faced the street. A yellow bus with a green stripe immediately pulled up. The doors opened, to reveal an old turtle who was behind the wheel. This bus company seemed to have quick service.

"Aye, come aboard, young lass!" the turtle said to me. I walked up the steps of the bus, practically skipping, and plopped into a seat, ready to go.

"Arrrr, where you be heading, lass?" The turtle asked.

"Starwood!" I replied happily.

"Aye, and away we go!" The turtle shouted, and the bus lurched forward. It got moving very fast, compared to the train. I hopped up and down in my seat, no longer able to contain my excitement.

This bus was a lot cleaner than the train. There wasn't dust covering the seats, or cobwebs in the corners. The pale green plastic covering for the seats were not cracked, and looked almost new.

I looked to the seat next to me, and noticed a blue cat, wearing a red sweater. "Howdy there!" The cat said cheerfully. The idea of talking animals was starting to grow on me, especially because they all seemed to be so darn friendly. Not only that, but most of them were adorable, and quite helpful.

"Hello!" I said.

"I'm Rover." He said kindly. "I heard you're heading to Starwood. Good luck with that! That town is a dump."

"…"

I didn't really know how to respond to that rash statement. Scratch the idea that all of these animals were helpful.

"Um, I'm Wendy. I don't really know a lot about Starwood, but I'm sure it's fine!" I said brightly. I stopped bouncing, because Rover was saying things that were starting to make me nervous.

Rover started laughing. I can't really say what he found so funny. Now, instead of making me anxious, this cat was just getting on my nerves.

"What's so funny?" I asked, trying not to have a tone of annoyance.

The cat stopped laughing. "It's just that I think Wendy is a funny name." He responded, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

I glared at him. "It is not! I mean, what kind of name is Rover? That's not a name for a cat! It's a name for a dog!" I crossed my arms and turned away from the cat.

"Woah there, missy! Don't get so offended. I'm just kidding! I think that Wendy is a very cute name for a very cute girl! Er, you are a girl, right?"

Anger was growing inside of me. "Yes. And thank you." I said through clenched teeth.

Rover made another feeble attempt at conversation. "So, what made you want to move to Starwood? I mean, it's SO ugly, and all the villagers are boring. I can't find any reason why you'd want to live there!" He said casually.

I glared at him again. This cat must be pretty confident to say such rude things when I barely knew him. "How would you know? Have you ever even BEEN to Starwood?"

Rover nodded matter of factly. "I've been there quite a few times. My good friend, Tom Nook runs the shop there. He says business is pretty bad lately. Of course, not many animals live there to begin with, and no one wants to visit, so it's only natural that few animals would shop there."

Again, I didn't really know how to respond to this statement. At this point, I figured that Starwood would be home to animals. But I didn't like what Rover was saying about the town.

What if he was right?

I just sat there, hoping that the old turtle would announce our arrival soon, so I could get away from this cat.

After a couple of minutes of sitting there silently, and hearing Rover hum happily to himself, the turtle started talking again.

"Aye, missy, we're 'bout to arrive at Starwood! Remember to come to ole' Kapp'n whenever you need to ride the bus again."

I checked my watch. It was about 6:00 pm, and I was excited to finally arrive at my new home.

I turned to Rover. "Are you getting off here?" I asked. The excitement of being in Starwood had drained the anger from my voice, despite what Rover had said previously.

Rover grinned. "No, I'm going to keep riding. I'm a drifter, and I don't really live anywhere. I have no business in Starwood today, anyway. But maybe I'll see you later!"

I really hoped not.

I ran down the bus aisle, and down the steps. I hopped out of the bus doors and onto a little platform, the excitement of seeing Starwood building up inside of me. I didn't care what Rover said.

Kapp'n drove the bus away as soon as my feet landed on the platform.

I took in everything around me. My backpack slid off of my shoulder, and fell on the ground. All I could do was stand there and gawk at the sight before me.

It was unbelievable.

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><p>AN - That's chapter two. I hope you all liked it :D


	3. Chapter 3: Welcome to Starwood!

Disclaimer : I don't own any piece of Animal Crossing, but I wish I did

A/N - This is a somewhat long chapter, but I hope you still like it all the same!

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><p>The sight before me was absolutely unbelievable… and it made me angry. One, because Rover was right, and two… well, to state quite bluntly… THIS TOWN WAS AWFUL!<p>

There were few trees, and no flowers. All I could see were weeds. Weeds, weeds and more weeds. I turned around and saw the town's gate. The gate appeared to be at the center of the most northern part of town. It was made of bricks, and looked quite a bit like a castle. It was extravagant, but would probably look nicer if all the weeds disappeared, and flowers grew around it instead.

I took a deep breath, and stepped off of the bus stop platform. This was it. This was my new home. The excitement that had slowly built up like a brick wall inside of me, was quickly knocked down by a wrecking ball, the wrecking ball being the hideous mess that Starwood actually was. I know they say to never judge a book by its cover, but first impressions matter a lot to me in my opinion, and this town wasn't leaving a great one.

I felt tears well up in my eyes. I shouldn't be crying and acting like a baby, but this town was nothing like I'd expected. I wanted to go home, but I knew I couldn't. I'd rather be here than in that town that had nothing. Maybe I'd still find something here, despite the ugliness. I climbed on the platform and sat down facing the town gate. I wiped the tears off of my face with my knuckles and sniffled. I couldn't hold it back anymore.

All of a sudden, I heard a gasp. I turned around to face away from the town gate, and towards the weedier parts of town. Standing there was a tall zebra. She was wearing a blue shirt, and had blonde hair, that matched the bottom of her hooves. She was standing on her hind legs, and was holding a giant net. Her eyes blatantly showed fear.

I wiped more tears from my eyes, sniffled, and gave her a friendly grin. The zebra yelped, and ran away.

"Wait!" I shouted after her, my voice sounding stuffy from crying. I grabbed my backpack, jumped off of the bus stop platform, and ran after the zebra. "Come back!"

The zebra continued to run away. I kept chasing her. I noticed that there were more weeds than I suspected, and flies were swarming around a giant red flower. Not a pretty flower, but a flower that was more like a giant weed.

The zebra crossed over a bridge that went over a small river. I ran over the bridge, and stopped for a second as I watched her enter a nearby house. I looked at the house curiously. It was small, yet very pretty.

This zebra seemed to be very shy. I slowly walked up to the house, and before I could even reach the door, the zebra emerged, being pushed by a white cat. The cat had brown ears, and feet. Her eyes were bright yellow, and were looking quite angry as she pushed the zebra outside. A little mole was visible on her left cheek, right below her eye.

"Savannah! Stop being so shy, purrr! You should be lucky that we have visitors - oh!" The cat caught sight of me, and stopped pushing the zebra. The zebra yelped again, and ran back inside. The cat looked towards her door, sighed and turned back to face me.

"Hello there. Sorry about Savannah. She came running into my house, yelling about somebody new here… well, she's _very_ shy. It gets extremely annoying, purrr."

I smiled at the cat. I was no longer crying, and no longer sad, but excited to meet the villagers of Starwood. "I'm Wendy." I said, trying to sound neighborly. "I think I'm going to be living here, in this town."

The cat looked me up and down, with almost a disgusted look on her face. "What kind of name is Wendy, purrr? And, ugh, your choice in clothing!" I looked down at my red and yellow checked dress. I guess it wasn't as attractive as the cat's blue dress that was printed with white daisies, but she didn't have to be so snobby.

"I'm Olivia by the way. I love to collect fancy furniture and clothing. I'm surprised you want to move to a town like Starwood, purrr. This place is absolutely disgraceful! I'm shocked that _I_ still live here." She said, while rolling her eyes. "Savannah! Get out of my house, and come meet the new neighbor!"

Savannah slowly peeked her head out of the door, and emerged cautiously. I smiled as friendly as possible. "Hi Savannah. I'm Wendy!" I said.

"Hello, y'all. I'm Savannah." Savannah responded quietly.

The three of us stood there awkwardly. I smiled occasionally at Olivia and Savannah. Olivia continued to look me up and down, looking more and more disgusted. Savannah seemed to want to just bolt right back into the house. Olivia finally broke the silence.

"Come inside with me now, Savannah!" Olivia said. "I need your help, er, dusting, purrr!" Olivia grabbed Savannah's hoof, and they both quickly entered Olivia's house. I heard Olivia whispering something through the door. I didn't even get a chance to ask if I could help them, but it didn't matter anyway. I was clearly not wanted by them. I sighed, and walked around the weed filled town, looking for any other neighbors that might live around here.

I decided to follow the river so I wouldn't get lost, and headed toward the southern end of Starwood. The weeds still seemed to cover every square inch of the town's grass. It was quite sad, because Starwood did seem to have the potential to be a beautiful place.

I continued walking along, down a small hill, and avoiding the scarce trees. The river fell into a waterfall, and continued south. In a short time, I reached the southern most point of the town. The river opened up into the ocean. I noticed that there appeared to be some type of animal sitting on a beach, staring out at the sky. It must have been watching the sun set. It was still bright out, as it WAS summer, but you could still tell it was later in the evening. I checked my watch. It was 6:30.

"Hello there." I said, addressing the animal. I heard it grunt.

I walked over to it and sat down. "The sky is beautiful tonight, isn't it?" The animal turned to face me after I spoke. "Who are you, snarrrl?" he asked rudely in a gruff voice. When he turned to face me, I could then tell that he was a wolf. He had spiky dark blue hair, and a pointy cream colored snout. His narrowed eyes gave the impression that he was impatient.

The wolf was wearing a blue shirt with orange and green circles on it. The shirt itself looked quite stylish. I smiled at him. "I'm Wendy. I'm going to be living here."

"Oh how great. Just what we need. A new neighbor. I'm Wolfgang, and I like to be alone, snarrrl!" Wolfgang's voice had a bark-like manner to it.

I sighed, and stood up. "I'll leave you to your thoughts then." Wolfgang nodded approvingly as I walked away, continuing to stare out at the ocean.

The neighbors here weren't very social.

I walked back up north along the river until I came to the bridge that I chased Savannah across. I couldn't help but chuckle, remembering chasing her across here, desperate to talk to her. I crossed the bridge, and walked south down the other side of the river, climbing down a different hill.

At the bottom of the hill, I noticed a bird doing jumping jacks next to a fantastic white marble building.

To be honest, a bird doing jumping jacks didn't surprise me much anymore. Across this extremely busy day, I had seen quite a lot of crazy things.

I walked over to him, tiredly. What would make this animal more social than the others? "79, 80, 81..." The bird counted, taking deep breaths in between each number. Soon, the bird was talking to himself, or, more like shouting. "Come on, Jay! You gotta want it! You gotta want it!" I continued watching the bird, waiting for him to finish his jumping jacks so I could introduce myself.

"100!" Jay finished dramatically. Jay was dark blue in color, and had a red patch on his forehead. He sported a green shirt, with the number '6' on it.

"What's up? Ya' new here, heeeeey? I'm Jay, and I'll do ab-crunchers with you whenever you want!"

I smiled. Jay seemed to be the most friendly of all the animals in Starwood so far. "I'm Wendy. And yes, I'm moving in here. I was excited, until I saw how…er…dirty the town was. And, well some of the neighbors here are kind of...rude."

Jay nodded. "Yeah, the town is pretty messy, heeeeeeey. But that doesn't stop me from working out! And you'll get used to the neighbors. I gotta go run! Nice meeting you!" Jay jogged off, away from the marble building, and headed north of town. I sighed. I guess I wasn't going to be spending a lot of time with Jay either.

I walked around to the front of the marble building, and noticed it had just a little picture of an owl over the door way. Curiously, I entered.

I found myself in a classy, large room with green and white tile. There were small red carpets in front of different doorways that must lead to other sub rooms. The carpets had pictures of fish, bugs, paintings or fossils on them. An owl stood in the center of the room. He smiled at me. He was brown, with a green bow tie. "Hoo! Welcome to the Starwood museum. We have…uh… next to nothing on display. BUT, we DO have a nice café downstairs, called the Roost, and a perfect conservatory to view the stars upstairs. Please, take all the time you need."

"Thank you." I responded with a smile. I walked down the aforementioned staircase, to find myself in a cute little café. There was a counter, with three red stools to sit on that were pulled up in front of it.

To the left of the room, there was an empty stage, with a piano and some amps on top of it. In front of the stage, probably for an audience, was a little wooden table with four matching chairs surrounding it.

I sat in one of the red stools near the counter. A pigeon was standing behind the counter, cleaning mugs.

"…The coffee is a tad bit expensive at 200 bells a cup, but it's well worth it." I guess I DID need a little pick-me-up.

I took my backpack off of my shoulder, and pulled out 200 more bells. I noted that I only had 800 left. I gave the pigeon a kind smile, and handed him my bells. "One please!"

The pigeon took his time finding a clean mug, and filling it up with coffee, but that didn't bother me. I wasn't in any rush. The pigeon appeared to be greenish in color, and had a black moustache. Perched on his yellow beak was a pair of small, circular glasses.

"Drink up, while it's hot." He told me, while passing me my coffee over the counter. Steam danced out of the white mug that was filled with the coffee, black as night. I nodded my head in thanks, and added some cream and sugar before taking a sip. The coffee was really good, and I'm not usually the kind of person to enjoy coffee either. I felt as though my tongue was burning, but I've heard it's harder to drink coffee when it's cold. My body filled up with warmth, from my head, to the tips of my toes. The pigeon continued to clean mugs while I drank my coffee.

As I was taking another sip, I heard foot steps making their way down the stairs to the café. A black dog slowly poked his head through the entranceway. "Hello, Walker." The pigeon said suddenly.

The dog smiled, and walked into the café casually. "Hey, Brewster. My usual please, wuh." The dog had bright blue eyes, and a white snout and paws. He was wearing an orange shirt, with a blue number '67' on it. He plopped into the stool next to mine. The café was silent as Brewster got Walker's coffee. You could feel the awkwardness in the air. I smiled at Walker, and attempted to make conversation. "Hello."

Walker looked over to me. "Hello. What are you doing here in Starwood? I haven't seen you around here before, wuh."

"I'm going to be living here now. I'm Wendy!"

"I'm Walker. I like naps and food. Come talk to me sometime. Maybe we could hang out, wuh." I nodded, and finished up my coffee. I was about to stand up, when I figured I should probably ask Walker where I could go to find a house to live in.

"Um, Walker. Where can I go to ask about buying a house?"

"Hmmmm, I think you should check the town hall. That would probably be the best place to look. The town hall is directly north of here. You can't miss it, wuh!"

"Thank you, Walker! And thank you for the coffee, Brewster!" I grabbed my bag, and ran up the stairs. I was going to check out the observatory, but there would be plenty of time for that once I was moved in. I checked my watch. It was a little past 7:00. I was already tired from all of my travel.

I walked out of the museum, and headed north, just like Walker had said. I really liked Walker, even though I didn't get a chance to talk to him too much. He was my favorite of all of the villagers here in Starwood. He seemed some what lazy, but was much more friendly than all of the other neighbors. I sighed. I hope someone else moves in, or I'll be pretty lonely, with only Walker for a friend; and Tangy and Goldie to talk to when I go to the city.

Maybe tomorrow, I'll try to talk to Savannah and Olivia again. I had kind of given up on being friends with Wolfgang, because he was too cranky. I've given up on Jay too, because all he cares about is fitness.

Soon, a wooden building came into view. A bulletin board was located directly to the left of it. The building looked official, like the type of place to be a town hall, so I figured I must have arrived at my destination. I entered through the gray door, and found myself in an official looking room. The floors and wall were made of wood, and a long wooden counter cut the room in half. To the left of the door was an ATM, and to the right of the door was a green recycling bin.

Behind the long counter was a pretty pelican, who was wearing a dark pink blazer and a light pink kerchief. She gave me a somewhat confused smile as I walked up to her. "Hello there. I'm Pelly, and welcome to the Starwood town hall. Is there anything I can help you with?"

I noticed that behind Pelly was a desk, where an ancient turtle was snoozing. He was wearing a black top hat, and a cane rested against the desk.

"Um, I'm here to buy a house. I, uh, want to live here."

Pelly brightened up immediately. "Oh! No one notified me that someone was moving in. But that's quite alright. We have plenty of vacant houses that you can move in to. Here's a map of the town. The vacant houses are circled. They're all the same size."

Pelly handed me the map. I looked down at it, and noticed that all of the villagers' names were on the map, along with the location of their house. I noticed that I had met all of the villagers in town already.

My favorite vacant house was one that was right on the beach, right near Savannah's house. Maybe I could make friends with her if I lived near her…

"I'll have this house!" I said, handing Pelly the map back, and pointing to the house near the beach.

"Oh, you can keep that map! And I'll make sure to put on file that you are the new owner of this house." Pelly pulled out a paper and started writing information down quickly. "What's your name?"

"Wendy." I responded, with a smile.

"Okay, just sign here, and the house is yours. By the time you get down to the beach to see your house, Tom Nook will be there to consult you about price."

I signed my name on the paper. "Thank you, Pelly." I said, before walking out of the town hall. I didn't know who Tom Nook was, but I was afraid to find out how much my house was going to be.

I followed my map, crossing bridges, and walking down hills, passing some of the villager's houses. And then, there it was. The smallest house you'd ever see. It had a yellow roof, and a red mailbox.

Savannah's house, which was right next to mine, looked quite nice, with more detailing. It was slightly larger, but not by much.

I entered my house nervously, worried about what the size would really be.

It looked like a cupboard! There was barely enough room for a table! A cardboard box was located in the corner with a candle placed on top, and an ancient looking radio was sitting on the ground in another corner.

I noticed that there was a staircase that lead to an attic. I walked up to the second story. The attic was relatively clean, with a single bed, and a telephone.

I walked back down the stairs and out the door. A raccoon with a blue apron was waiting outside. I assumed that this must be Tom Nook.

"Ah, I see that you've seen the house. I'm sure you like it hm?"

I shrugged. "It's fine." There were no houses that were bigger, so this would have to do.

"Ah, good, very good! Well, the house's total is 22,000 bells. I know, quite cheap. Very generous of me. As you pay off your house, I can make it bigger if you'd like. But I do need that 22,000 before I can expand."

"Uh…" I reached in my backpack, and pulled out the last of my money… 800 bells. I handed it to Tom.

"Oh my… only 800 bells? Well, no matter. You can pay off the rest promptly in the town hall. And tomorrow, I'll have you come work part time in my shop to put even more bells toward your house. Yes, quite a good idea. I expect you at my shop promptly at 10:00 am tomorrow. Yes, good night."

Tom ran off.

I didn't even get a chance to tell him that I didn't want to have this job. Oh well. At least I could get some money to put on to my small house to make it bigger.

I looked at my watch. It was 8:00. I realized how tired and starving I was, despite having a mug of coffee earlier. I looked around town, and noticed a tree that had three peaches hanging off of it. I shook the tree, and ate all three peaches in a matter of ten minutes. I was still some what hungry, but it would have to be enough for now.

I trudged into my house and up the stairs. I flopped onto my yellow bed and fell asleep immediately, which was quite unlike me.

I was in for a long day tomorrow.


End file.
